NASA News Conference to Preview August Mars Rover Landing

 

News release: 2012-201b                                                                     July 11, 2012 NASA News Conference to Preview August Mars Rover Landing The full version of this story with accompanying images is at: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2012-201b&cid=release_2012-201b PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT) Monday, July 16, to discuss the upcoming August landing of the most advanced robot ever sent to another world. A new public-engagement collaboration based on the mission also will be debuted. The event for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft will be held at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The event will be broadcast live on NASA Television and streamed on the agency's website. To view a JPL live stream with a moderated chat, visit: http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl. Mars Science Laboratory will deliver the Curiosity rover to the surface of Mars at approximately 10:31 p.m. PDT on Aug. 5 (1:31 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6). Curiosity, carrying laboratory instruments to analyze samples of rocks, soil and atmosphere, will investigate whether Mars has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life. Participants will be: -- Doug McCuistion, director, Mars Exploration Program, NASA Headquarters -- Michael Meyer, lead scientist, Mars Exploration Program, NASA Headquarters -- John Grotzinger, MSL project scientist, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. -- Pete Theisinger, MSL project manager, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena -- Jeff Norris, manager, planning and execution systems, Jet Propulsion Laboratory For NASA TV streaming video, scheduling and downlink information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about the mission, and to view or submit events surrounding the landing, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mars and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. The public can follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter at: http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity and http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity . JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, manages the Mars Science Laboratory mission for NASA. Guy Webster 818-393-9011 / 354-6278 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726 NASA Headquarters, Washington Dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov - end -